The first ripple in development of property along Pilgrim Mill Road will begin soon.
The Cumming City Council has retained Winter Construction Company to manage construction of the long-awaited Cumming Aquatic Center, while coordinating with three other projects planned for that same stretch of Pilgrim Mill, near Exit. 16 at Ga. 400.
Council voted on Tuesday to hire Winter, which will receive a 2.5 percent fee.
The job requires "communication and coordination with all the parties, making sure everyone understands what's happening," said Brent Reid, the company's president and chief executive officer.
The other projects on the city's northeastern side include a new National Guard armory, a North Georgia College & State University campus and Department of Driver Services facility.
The city project is not the first time Reid has worked with NGCSU. The company was hired to oversee the student recreation center at the university.
Winter also recently headed work on two aquatic centers in Clayton County, south of Atlanta, which Reid said were comparable to Cumming's project.
"It's a pretty standard structure you would expect to find on a building of this type," he said. "It brings the community together, it ... provides a focal point for the citizens in the community."
With the aquatic center set to open before the end of 2010, local swim teams could benefit from the addition by having practice space nearby.
None Forsyth County's high schools has a swimming pool, forcing aquatic teams to train and compete at neighborhood facilities or pools in other counties.
"We are excited for the opening of the new aquatic center to serve our students," said Todd Shirley, who oversees school system athletics. "We are truly grateful to the facilities that have hosted our athletes and worked such a large population into their schedule.
"As we continue to grow, especially with the opening of our fifth high school [Lambert] this August, the opening of another facility allows our students an additional resource to provide more time in the water."